Camping
by Jewel1001
Summary: A simple camping trip turns into a disaster. Syrus has disappeared, Hasselberry takes charge, Chazz is adopted by wild animals, and Jaden and Jesse are having feelings for each other.
1. Prologue

Hazeru - Ah, another story!

Hera - This one is a bit weird, so give it a few chapters.

Hazeru - We'll update as soon as we can.

Hera - Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Prologue

Off To A Good Start

The tent was up and secured, its hooks placed firmly in the ground and the flaps that proved for window coverings - the windows were, of course, made of a form of plastic instead of glass - were rolled down to give some privacy to the occupants of the small, navy blue tent.

Inside said tent, five rather grumpy students sat and listened to the constant pitter-patter of the rain hitting of the material that was their shelter.

The floor of the tent was made of a rather scratchy material that Jaden Yuki really didn't like. He kept scraping his knuckles off the floor and feeling the discomfort of it, which was why he was now taking care not to touch the floor with his bare skin.

Jaden leant against Jesse Andersen, his best friend.

Opposite the brunette was another of Jaden's friends - who was, honestly, more like a brother to him. Syrus looked more fed up than he did himself.

Beside the short boy with glasses was Hasselberry. The dino duellist was in a daydream, sprawled out across the floor and leaving little room for the other people.

Much to the annoyance of the fifth and last person of their party, Chazz Princeton.

Chazz hadn't wanted to come on this little trip at all. Now he knew never to make a bet again with Alexis that he could beat her in a duel. He had lost, and as a punishment, he had to join the slackers on their little getaway. He wouldn't have minded so much if they had been going to a fantastic beach or something, but to this dreary part of the country?

He hadn't known that Jaden had even wanted to go camping, but this was that damn Slifer's idea, and his three friends had agreed willingly to it, while Chazz had been forced into the whole thing.

/

The students of Duel Academy had a week off school. The school had been hit with a storm, and as a result, part of the roof had collapsed and needed repairing. Thankfully the repairs were going quickly, but it was under reconstruction and students couldn't be in the building. Shepherd had decided that it would be easier to just give them a week off than it would be to organise classes around the work.

And, of course, none of the students were complaining.

Most weren't leaving the island at all, but Jaden had decided that, since they had seven free days, he wanted to try camping with his friends for the first time. But he didn't want to do it at Duel Academy, they could do that any old time. No, they had to get off the island.

Maybe Chazz was just pissed because he had been the one to fork out the money for the whole trip? Jaden had to hand it to Alexis, the girl was good. She forced him to accept her bet and she won the duel. Alexis had said she wouldn't come because she wanted to catch up on some studies that she didn't want to fall behind on, but that Chazz could take her place.

Jaden wondered if maybe Chazz still harboured feelings for the girl, and that was why he listened to her and actually did what she said?

Whatever the reason, he had done well. A nice campsite, thick woods to explore all around - there were wild animals there, so it was said, but they didn't really come into the campsite - shops around the area to buy food …

And he had the company of Chazz, Syrus, Hasselberry and Jesse.

What more could a guy ask for? A four day camping trip with his two best buddies, his rival, and his secret crush!

Yes, Jaden had secret feelings for Jesse Andersen, feelings he'd never tell him about. Had he been the drastically emotional type, he might have been pining over Jesse. As it was, he was more a get-on-with-it type of person, and so he just hung around with Jesse, best buddies.

/

"Hey, guys, the rain's stopping" Syrus said, and the others all listened hard for a moment before smiling at one another in agreement.

They had been so used to the rhythm of the rain that they hadn't even noticed it had gone off.

"Well, it's a bit late to start exploring the woods" Jesse said thoughtfully. "But someone should go to the shop and get some food for the night."

The others nodded in agreement. Jaden really wanted to explore, but it would be wet underfoot and he - being him - had forgotten to bring a change of shoes. He really didn't want to go trudging through the mud at the moment. In the morning, sure. For now, food sounded like the best idea in the world.

"Who's going?" he asked.

Everyone said that they were staying right where they sat.

"Alright, soldiers. Flip for it" Hasselberry grumbled, pulling out some coins and handing one to each of his friends, keeping one copper coin in his palm.

"Can't we duel for it?" Jaden moaned.

"Jay, that'll take too long" Syrus said reasonably.

Jaden grumbled a little but followed his friends' lead and flipped his coin.

The five laid their fists in the middle of the 'circle' they created and removed their hands, showing their coins.

Everyone's coin showed a 'head'. All but one.

"Aw man! Why me?" Syrus groaned.

The others cheered and each threw him some coins, Chazz all but kicking Syrus out of the tent.

Syrus glared back at the tent before he began walking in the direction of the shops.

Or so he thought.

/

Syrus had been gone a long time. The shops were a five minute walk away. Jaden tried to do the maths in his head - not easy, since he hated maths, particularly when he was tired and hungry.

Five minutes there, five minutes back. Ten in the shop to decide what to get, possibly five to purchase the items if there was a queue? Less than half an hour.

So why had Syrus been gone forty five minutes?

The other four went out in what was now pouring rain to look around for him, spent fifteen minutes looking, and then met back up in the tent.

The four sat at four corners, forming a square, as Jaden looked at the others with worry in his eyes.

"Syrus is gone!"

Hazeru - Syrus? Where have you gone?

Hera - Thick woods with wild animals?

Hazeru - So Syrus is gone and it's raining. What fun xD

Hera - R&R please. No flames.


	2. Chapter 1  Let Me Handle It

Hazeru - Sorry it's taken a while, here's another chapter.

Hera - Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 1

Let Me Handle It

The rain had just about stopped. Syrus had been gone an hour and a half, and the sky was beginning to show signs of darkness. It was going to be dark soon. Where was Syrus?

Jesse and Hasselberry were looking at a map of the grounds. Chazz was flicking through his deck, not caring too much about the pipsqueak. He'd come back soon enough, anyway. Jaden had gone to look around again, and soon enough he stepped back into the tent, barley damp from the rain.

"Well?" Jesse asked.

"Nothing" Jaden said despairingly. "I called for him all around the woods, he's not there."

"_This _is why we _don't _go camping in strange places, slacker" Chazz mumbled - quickly shut up by a fist to the face from Hasselberry.

"Quiet, soldier. So, Sarge, what are we gonna do?"

"It's getting dark" Jesse observed.

"I don't know. We can't leave Sy out there all night" Jaden mumbled, twisting his fingers around each other anxiously.

What if Syrus got hurt? They wouldn't find him in the dark. Did they have a flashlight? Hasselberry had packed one, but was that in the bag they'd forgotten to take with them?

"Private Truesdale's scared of the dark" Hasselberry said. "Little fella could get himself into a lot of trouble out there."

"We should go look for him" Jaden muttered.

"In this dark? With no light?" Chazz exclaimed. "You're out of your mind!"

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Jaden asked, angry.

"Yeah, we can't leave Sy out there all night."

"Soldiers …" Hasselberry begged, but nobody listened to him.

"He'll be back when he's back!"

"What if he gets hurt?"

"Or kidnapped!"

"Or abducted by aliens!"

"Then good riddance to bad slackers!"

"_Soldiers _…" Hasselberry tried again.

Still no luck.

"I'm going to look for him!"

"I'm coming with you."

"No, it's too dangerous."

"With the wild animals? You two can get yourselves killed if you want, but I …"

"SOLDIERS!" Hasselberry shrieked.

This time, they all listened.

Chazz glared at him, Jesse and Jaden looking at him in annoyance and anxiety.

"Let me handle it" Hasselberry said, his voice dangerously low. "Nobody's gonna leave Private Truesdale out there on his own. We'll split up and go look for him."

"In the dark?" Chazz sneered.

"Some of us brought flashlights" Hasselberry grinned, drawing two from his pockets as if they were pistols. "Chazz, you're with me. Jesse, you and the Sarge go the opposite way from where we're going."

"And where is that, exactly?" Jaden queried.

"Princeton and I are going into the woods to do some scouting. You two are looking around the campsite."

"Who the hell put you in charge?" Chazz growled.

"Will you shut up?" Jesse glared, causing all the others to stare at him in confusion. Jesse was never really irritated with anyone.

"Okay, so we've got a game plan. But …" Jaden sighed. "How are we going to keep in contact?"

"There's not any mobile phone signal here" Chazz despaired.

"We'll just have to go by natural instinct" Hasselberry said. "Understood?"

His voice left no room for questioning or debate. The other three nodded - Chazz reluctantly.

"So when do we go?"

"Right now."

A nod from Jaden confirmed this.

Hazeru - Sorry there was so much talking. Just one of those chapters.

Hera - Chazz and Hasselberry going one way.

Hazeru - Jaden and Jesse going the other.

Hera - This'll be interesting.

Hazeru - And what's happened to poor Syrus?

Hera - R&R please


	3. Chapter 2  Cold And Dark

Hazeru - Here's another chapter.

Hera - Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 2

Cold And Dark

"Syrus? You out there, bro?" Jaden called.

"Sy? Can you hear us?" Jesse shouted.

The two waited for a reply but got nothing. Jaden turned despairingly to his best friend.

"What if he's hurt? He could've passed out" Jaden said, shivering at the thought of Syrus lying unconscious and hurt in a ditch somewhere. "We've got to find him!"

"Calm down, Jay. He'll be around here someplace" Jesse muttered, leading the way into another part of the forest.

The sky above them was dark, and they were immensely grateful for the torch Hasselberry had given to them.

They didn't know where Hasselberry and Chazz were, either. They had no phones with them - or at least, no signal on their phones - and no way of getting in contact.

"Hasselberry's probably slaughtered Chazz by now" Jaden muttered, trying to stick close to Jesse, since it was the bluenette who was carrying the torch.

"Never mind them, they can take care of themselves" Jesse said. "It's Syrus we've got to be worried about."

"You got that right" Jaden muttered.

Then, there was a sudden crack - like a twig snapping under someone's foot.

Jaden moved closer to Jesse. There were wild animals out here. Duelling wasn't going to be any use against them if they attacked.

Jesse subconsciously moved closer to Jaden, using the torch to scan the area around them.

"Syrus?" Jaden called, trying to steady his voice. "That you?"

There was no answer.

"Great" Jaden muttered sarcastically.

The two moved slowly away, using the torch to look around, hoping to find Syrus.

It was too dark to see clearly. The light of the flashlight was their only way of seeing, and it wasn't illuminating a big enough area of the woods.

Not to mention that the darker it got, the _colder _it got.

Shivering slightly, Jaden rubbed his arms, hoping the friction would create some heat. He really didn't want to be out here, but there was no way he was letting Syrus be out here alone.

They were going to find him.

/

"Face it, Princeton, you have no idea where you're going!" Hasselberry growled.

"I _know _where I'm going - I'm going back to the tent!" Chazz growled back. "You can get yourself killed out here if you want, but The Chazz has better things to do."

"Show some respect, Princeton. Private Truesdale's still out there!"

"Like I care!" Chazz retorted.

Hasselberry growled, and turned around to glare at the opinionated boy, holding the flashlight he held under his face like he was about to tell a scary story.

"You know what, Chazz? I've had just about enough of …"

But he was cut off by a growl.

He looked at Chazz in shock - had that sound come from the rich kid? It didn't sound human!

He shone the light in Chazz's face, and noticed that the black haired boy was staring into the woods, his face a mix of fear and confusion.

Okay, so the growl hadn't come from him.

Then, what …

Hasselberry's silent question was answered when the darkness in front of them seemed to move.

Swallowing hard, Hasselberry let the light of the torch fall on the figure in from of them.

Eyes. Nose. Ears. Paws. Claws. _Fur_.

Chazz moved back a little so that he was beside Hasselberry.

"Is that a _bear_?" he asked, shocked.

The bear was huge, even when it was on all fours.

"What do you think?" Hasselberry muttered, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"I think we'd better get out of here!" Chazz muttered.

"No! Don't move a muscle!" Hasselberry hissed.

"Why? You wanna get eaten?"

"Make a sudden movement, Princeton, and it'll have your arm off" Hasselberry muttered, eyes focused on the huge, motionless bear.

"Well, are we gonna do something, or stand here and look at it?"

Hasselberry didn't get a chance to answer.

Because the bear suddenly moved forward and used a paw to lash out at Chazz.

The duellist jumped out of the way, falling to the ground but receiving no damage for the bears claws.

The bear moved forward, straight towards Chazz.

Hasselberry stood almost motionless, stuttering nonsense , as the bear lifted Chazz up by his black jacket and began to drag him along the ground.

When the bear had taken Chazz a few feet away, Hasselberry recovered and launched for it.

Sadly, the darkness prevented him from seeing the tree roots in front of him. He tripped, fell and hit his head on a root, knocking himself unconscious.

And, screaming and thrashing uselessly, Chazz was dragged away by the bear.

/

"Syrus?" Jaden shouted, his voice reaching the edge of desperation. "Syrus!"

"Sy! Come on, pal!" Jesse shouted.

Like Jaden, he was beginning to get really worried. Neither one wanted to show their fear for their friend, but it was becoming difficult.

Syrus was out there, alone. He could be hurt, or unconscious, or something worse.

Who knew what was out there in the woods?

"Syrus! Come on!" Jaden shouted again. "Oh, man!"

Camping had been his idea. If Syrus was hurt, then it was his fault. If Syrus had been injured out there, he'd never forgive himself.

And it was really cold now.

Jaden was angry at himself because he was shivering, his teeth chattering in the cold as he called out again for his lost friend.

Jesse looked worriedly at his friend, using the flashlight to see Jaden's face.

The boy looked freezing. Jesse himself had a high tolerance for the cold - he suspected he was more used to it than Jaden - so he wasn't feeling it too badly. But evidently, Jaden was.

"Jay? You alright?"

"Fine" Jaden stuttered, rubbing his arms to try and create some heat. "Just worried about Sy."

"We'll fine him, Jay" Jesse muttered, focusing on the other. "Jaden, you're chittering."

"I'm okay."

"You're not."

Jesse hesitated briefly, and then wrapped one arm around Jaden's shoulders.

A bit confused, Jaden looked at his friend, wishing he could see his face clearly - the darkness making that impossible.

"Jess?"

"I don't get cold easy" Jesse muttered.

Instinctively, Jaden leaned into the contact. Jesse was so warm …

With little to no hesitation, Jesse pulled Jaden against him properly and embraced him. This was purely for heat, to get Jaden warmed up - the fact that he liked this had nothing to do with it.

Jaden shivered a little, but it wasn't so bad now that he was pressed against Jesse. Jesse was really warm - how was a mystery to the brunette.

They would stay like this for a few minutes, and then continue their search for Syrus in the dark woods.

Hazeru - Aww, Jaden and Jesse hugging!

Hera - Purely for warmth, mind.

Hazeru - Of course ;)

Hera - Anyway, Hasselberry's been knocked out.

Hazeru - And Chazz has been kidnapped by a bear!

Hera - R&R please. No flames.


	4. Chapter 3  I'm Going On A Bear Hunt

Hazeru - Sorry for the wait, here's chapter three.

Hera - Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 3

I'm Going On A Bear Hunt

"Syrus! Answer me!" Jaden called, cupping his hands around his mouth to try and project his voice.

There was no reply, though he and Jesse both shouted for their friend.

"Where'd he go?" Jesse muttered, and he began walking forward again, using his flashlight to scan the surrounding area. Too bad he missed what was right in front of him.

Jesse shrieked as he unknowingly walked into a wooden fence, and he was knocked to the ground. The flashlight rolled from his hand and - as if the electronic device had a cruel sense of humour - illuminated the figure on the ground so that Jaden could see the bewildered look on Jesse's face. The brunette, despite the situation, burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Jesse snarled, though a smile was playing at the corners of his mouth.

Jaden extended a hand and smiled into the darkness when Jesse took it. He pulled his friend up off the ground, inwardly thinking that Jesse's palm was very soft. Little did he know that Jesse was thinking the same thing about him. Both were grateful for the surrounding darkness of the night - it hid the fact that they were blushing.

Back on their feet, Jesse grabbed the flashlight and shone it on and around the fence. Beyond that wooden barrier was a field, and in that field was a small cottage. It had a light in a window - this was a farm.

A farm that was on the edge of a wood? Just how far had they walked? What time was it? Judging by how heavy their eyelids were, it had to be getting really late.

"Should we go and see if anyone's home?" Jaden asked, rubbing his arms a little to create some heat - the night was chilly.

"Yeah. Maybe Syrus is in there" Jesse said hopefully, Jaden nodding in agreement.

The two scaled the fence, wondering why it was so easy - there were wild animals in the forest, shouldn't this farm be more protected? It did have animals - already the two could see and hear cows and sheep.

The marshy land was not entirely pleasant to walk across, but the two made do with it, carefully lifting their meet so as no to lose their shoes in the mud. But the terrain was uneven and it was only a matter of time before one of them lost his balance.

Mother Nature can be fair when she wants to be - this time, Jaden fell.

Jesse laughed a little, shining his torch down to see Jaden shitting there with a look of horror on his face. Something of an unpleasant colour was sticking to his white jeans, although this part of the farm was all dry grass and no mud. So then what …

Jaden shivered.

"What … the hell … did I just land in?"

Jesse realised and snickered a little.

"Uhm … that would be a cow pie."

Jaden frowned and glared at the surrounding area.

"No! I know pie!" he growled. "Pies have cherry, or apple, or rhubarb." He lifted his hands and shouted to the heavens, "_this is no pie_!"

/

"Put me down! Bad bear!" Chazz shrieked.

The bear had been carrying him along for a while now, dragging him by holding his coat in its teeth. He had already torn the coat away once in a valiant attempt to escape, but had had no luck - the bear had just grabbed onto his coat further up before he could even get onto his feet to run.

What the hell was the bear going to do? Eat him? Maybe it was a female bear, and was taking him back to feed to her cubs.

Well, he was damned if The Chazz was going to be eaten by baby bears.

_Baby bears don't eat The Chazz_, he thought menacingly. _I eat baby bears. _

And with that thought, he began preparing ways that he could fend off giant bears with only his hands and feet.

/

God, he could practically see the little birds chirping around his head. There was surely going to be a bump there. The dino duellist lifted his hand and ran in carefully over his head - ouch. Yes, definitely a bump forming. Hasselberry didn't even really remember losing consciousness, but now that he was awakening, it all came back to him - Chazz, the bear, Chazz being kidnapped by the bear …

"Great" he muttered, sarcasm lacing his tone.

Before he could find Syrus, he had to go after Chazz. Because he didn't know if Syrus was in any danger, but he was certain that Chazz was.

He stood up and stretched, after wiping down his clothes so they were free of pine needles.

"Well, Operation Save Princeton is now in effect" he muttered to nobody but himself, his dinosaur instincts for survival kicking in as he scanned the area. Then a smile played on his lips as he saw the tracks of the bear and Chazz.

Hasselberry began to follow the tracks, muttering softly under his breath as he did.

"We're going on bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day. We're not scared."

Hazeru - Anyone know where Jaden's last line comes from? I don't take credit for it and do not own it.

Hera - She doesn't own "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" either.

Hazeru - Sadly. I love that book! :D

Hera - R&R please.


	5. Chapter 4  The Stranger

Hazeru - Hey, sorry for the lack of updates for GX fics lately. School's been hectic, lol.

Hera - Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 4

The Stranger

His clothes were soaking from crawling army-style across the floor of the forest in search of his kidnapped friend. His _bear_napped friend. At some point in the last five minutes, the heavens had opened and torrential rain had begun to pour down, seemingly aiming specifically for him, as if the trees and bushes around him were not satisfactory targets.

Soaked to the bone, shivering and frowning, Hasselberry tried to see it as a scouting mission, something that he just had to do. The weary 'soldier' tried not to think about his abandoned tent and his four absent friends. Syrus was missing, Chazz had been kidnapped by a bear, and he had no idea what had become of Jaden and Jesse, who'd went off in a different direction when they had split up to look for their missing friend.

_When I find you, Private Truesdale, you'll be doing laps for a month, _Hasselberry grumbled in his mind.

The soldier in him told him he had to do his duty and continue. The duellist in him told him that he wasn't going to give up until he'd found his friend. The normal boy in him - the logical part of him that was tired and wet and frustrated - told him to get back to the tent, change into warm clothes and get some sleep.

Hasselberry grew more and more frustrated and inwardly in conflict as the seconds gave way to minutes, and the rain poured down on his head, bouncing off his limbs. The mud was getting wetter and stickier and was clinging to his clothes, weighing him down, and at one point he found it so unwilling to release him that he feared he might have wandered into quicksand.

A nice, dry tent sounded so inviting …

But no. Neither the soldier nor the duellist in him would allow him to give up on his mission or his friends.

/

_Knock, knock._

There was a brief, five second pause before a shadow appeared behind the glass of the front door to the cottage, and a rustle that might have been keys jangling. Then the door opened and revealed an elderly man - about seventy years of age, seventy-five? - whose hair was very thin and grey, with twinkling blue eyes and a light, wiry beard of grey. He wore faded black slacks and a navy blue, knitted sweater. The only remarkable feature of his clothing was the heavy, gold watch that was worn on his plump wrist.

The old man's piercing blue eyes scanned the two young males who had appeared on his doorstep a few minutes shy of midnight. One had blue hair and green eyes, wore out of fashion clothing and was carrying a flashlight, and the other was a brown eyed brunette, whose white jeans were coated on one side in brown and smelled unpleasant.

The elderly man let out a hearty chuckle.

"Fell down in the field, did you, lad?" he asked kindly, having been in the same situation a dozen times before himself.

Jaden fought the urge to pout at the comment and instead nodded while Jesse explained that they were staying at the campsite and asked the old man if he had any idea where it was.

Neither one was pleased to hear the man inform them that the campsite was about fifteen miles by road, and that if they'd come through the woods, he had no idea how long it might take them to get back. Jaden felt like face-planting the ground, but resisted.

"Don't suppose you've seen a kid about our age around here, have you?" Jaden asked hopefully. "He's a bit shorter than us, wears glasses, probably screaming?"

The old man shook his head.

"I'm afraid I have not seen your friend."

The two thanked him for his time and turned to leave, but he stopped them by placing his hand on Jesse's shoulder.

"Why don't you boys come in for a minute?" he offered kindly. "It's nearly midnight and there aren't taxis round here to run you back to the campsite." His eyes wandered down to Jaden's dirty jeans and he added, "and I can probably get you some new clothes. You don't want to be walking around with that muck on your jeans, lad, it'll set fast on them. And I don't think you want to sit scrubbing them."

Jaden grinned a bit and followed the old man into the cottage, Jesse behind him. Both were still very worried about their lost friend, but neither could say no to the offer of clean, fresh-smelling clothes for Jaden, and the chance to sit in a cottage out of the cold.

The cottage itself, as it happened, was very small. The living room was tiny, with no room for anything but three armchairs, a television and a bookcase. Still, pictures hung on the walls, the bookcase was brimming over with books that were dust-free, and the room was very clean and tidy. The old man obviously tended to his home well.

"Since you're staying for a spell, you should probably know my name" the man said, his arms folded gently across his stomach, his stance not defensive and rather welcoming. "I'm Herbert, and you two would be?"

"Jesse Andersen" the bluenette said quietly.

"Jaden Yuki" his friend smiled.

By the old man's lack of reaction to hearing their names, the two deduced that he was not an enormous fan of duelling and certainly didn't keep up with the events that went on at their school.

Fair enough. He was a farmer, after all. There were people in the world who didn't devote their lives to duelling, it wasn't the planet's entire way of life!

Herbert seemed very kind. He rooted through his cupboards until he found a pair of jeans, skin-tight and similar in design to Jaden's, but jet black in colour. Jaden stepped into the bathroom to change, carrying with him a plastic bag that he could use to stuff his dirty jeans into once he was changed.

Meanwhile, Herbert told Jesse to sit down and make himself at home, and Jesse wondered how many visitors the poor old man got, living in the back of beyond as he did. The cottage seemed far too small to house any more than two people.

Jesse was just glad that Herbert had been awake when they'd knocked; he had had no idea of the time, and was fully aware that farmers usually went to bed early in order to be up in the early hours of the morning.

However, he had been hoping to find Syrus here. And Syrus hadn't even been seen by Herbert.

That meant the little guy was still out there somewhere, and Jesse was beginning to get really worried about him. Syrus wasn't the best handler of shock or fear, and it was always a possibility that he'd stumbled upon the wrong people.

As Jesse graciously accepted a cup of tea from Herbert, the endless scenarios played in his mind …

/

Dropped to the ground roughly, Chazz lay there in a dizzy state for a moment before he collected his wits and leapt to his feet, instantly holding his fists up in a defensive position.

"You want a piece of me, fuzz-ball?" he growled at the bear.

The bear stared at him in confusion, not moving.

"Bring it on, bear!" Chazz hissed, still waving his fists unprofessionally. "You want to fight? Come and get it, baby! Square go, right now!"

If bears could laugh, the one in front of him would have been in a state of hysteria.

Chazz was too busy being prepared to fight an animal that was doing nought but staring at him to notice that three more, fully grown bears had come out from the back of the cave and were now growling at him.

Only when the three roared did he finally notice and turn around, and then he suddenly sank down to his knees in sheer shock.

These things were _huge_! And they weren't like duel monsters, they couldn't be beaten by cards - and even if they could, he didn't have his deck!

Chazz was frightened enough of those creatures that he abandoned all sense of pride - all sense of being The Almighty Chazz - and covered his head.

"Spare me my life!" he shrieked, sounding desperate enough that he clamped his lips shut to stop himself from ever sounding like that ever again.

And as Chazz was rocking back and forth, wishing he had a corner to sulk in, the four bear reared up around him, and …

Hazeru - And what?

Hera - Find out next chapter. R&R please.


	6. Chapter 5  Adoption

Hazeru - This update is long overdue, so I'm sorry it's taken so long.

Hera - We hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 5

Adoption

The bite or the claws or whatever pain he had been expecting did not come. Instead, the cowering duellist found himself being brought up against the chest of the bear, which pulled him tightly against herself and squeezed; Chazz would have put money on his eyes popping out of his skull, he could hardly breathe. He realised that this was what a genuine 'bear hug' felt like and he was less than enthusiastic about it.

Realising that this bear did not intend to harm him, Chazz began to struggle mightily against her; thrashing his arms and legs; wriggling in the bear's grip; almost resorting to trying to bite the damn thing in an attempt to making her let go of him.

Eventually, she did, but even then she placed her paws on his legs so that he couldn't move. He was well and truly trapped by a mother bear, but this one did not have any cubs. Chazz did not know, and would never actually realise, that this mother bear had lost her only cub a few days ago and was looking for a replacement.

All he was aware of was the fact that Mother Bear had chosen Chazz to be her new cub. And he was not happy.

"Listen, you overgrown stuffed animal, let me get one thing straight: I am The Chazz, and you are a bear. I'll cook you! Now let me _go_!"

But the bear did not acknowledge his valiant attempts to regain his freedom; instead she just nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck and then licked his face as if she was deciding that he could do with a good cleaning.

Uttering a noise of disgust, Chazz tried harder to pull away from the bear, only now noticing that the three other bears were still in the cave, all sitting a little way off and watching him struggle.

_I hate animals_, he thought angrily.

He thrashed and struggled for a while until, at last, the mother bear let him go and moved off to the other side of the cave. He leapt to his feet and made for the exit, only to find it blocked by two larger, presumably male bears, who snarled at him and effectively stopped him from making his escape, much to his annoyance.

And so Chazz stood in the middle of the cave, surrounded by four large bears, waiting for the moment when they would become otherwise occupied so that he could run off. Unfortunately, fortune was working against Chazz on this occasion.

The mother bear came wandering back over to him with something – some unfortunate creature that have fallen prey to the bears – held carefully between her menacing jaws. The dead animal was, Chazz realised upon closer inspection, a hare; it was just about recognisable, even with the telltale blood dripping onto the floor.

Despite himself, Chazz wondered if he was actually going to vomit.

The bear made her way easily over to him and then dropped the hare at his feet, looking at him intently as if to tell him to go right ahead. Did that mean that...?

Oh no. No way. Not going to happen.

Chazz hurriedly backed away from the bear and the dead animal, terrified by this point. Did she actually intend for him to eat that thing! Fair enough, if cooked, it would probably make for a better meal than what anyone who had ever eaten at the Slifer canteen could hope for, but it was damn well _raw_ and still had _fur_!

Chazz paled – which was a remarkable achievement for someone with such a naturally pale complexion – as he realised that this bear had adopted him and was trying to feed him like she would a cub.

Well, he was hardly going to eat it, or even stay here for any longer than was absolutely necessary.

However, getting out of this situation was going to be, to say the least, interesting...

/

"Princeton! Hey, Chazz, I've got a big wad of money for ya!" Hasselberry called, trying to ignore the pain from the bump on his head as he wandered through the woods. Thankfully, it had stopped raining, but it was still cold and he was covered in drying mud which was very uncomfortable. "Where did that bear take him?"

Following the tracks of the bear should have been easier, except, in the wet mud, her tracks were proving very difficult to identify, and Hasselberry was fairly sure that he was now on the trail of an entirely different animal, but it was the only lead he had and so he had to follow it.

Sighing with dissatisfaction, Hasselberry took in a deep breath and then called out again, "Chazz! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

He waited; no answer. He sighed again – evidently, he was in entirely the wrong part of the woods. Now what? He had no way of knowing where Chazz had been taken.

Things just got worse and worse. He'd managed to lose Chazz; Syrus was still missing in action; Jaden and Jesse, he had no idea what had become of them. And now he was out here, all alone, in the woods and lost, cold and muddy just to sweeten the deal.

And just to make things oh-so-much-more-fun, he could've sworn that rain was just beginning to fall.

/

"Well, lads, I'm going to bed" Herbert said. "I've got to be up early tomorrow for the milking."

The two nodded in understanding and thanked Herbert for his time and hospitality; after all, they had been enjoying heat, tea and biscuits for the past half an hour, and on Jaden's part, clean clothes as well.

"We'll head on back to the campsite" Jesse said, and Herbert nodded in agreement, wishing them well. He was about to wish them a pleasant fifteen mile journey when Jaden cleared his throat to get attention and, blushing slightly, asked to use the bathroom.

Chuckling, Herbert told him to go right ahead, and then turned to speak with Jesse while his friend was making use of the facilities.

Jaden, meanwhile, went to the bathroom and then continued down the hall. It was pure chance – pure good fortunate – that he just so happened to pass a room at the same moment a soft whimper was emitted from the same room. Jaden froze; that had sounded so much like Syrus, it was uncanny.

Part of him felt very guilty and ungrateful as he gently pushed open the door – he should not be snooping around the home of someone who had so kindly let them warm up and fed them in the middle of the night. Besides, Herbert had already told them that he had not seen Syrus.

So imagine how surprised Jaden was when he peeked his head into the room – a bedroom, very small with nothing but a wardrobe and a single bed – and saw the familiar aqua hair of his best friend lying on the pillow.

Jaden boldly opened the door wider; it was definitely not a mistake. That hair, that little face, those whimpers he gave whenever caught in the grips of a nightmare – it was Syrus.

Syrus in the home of a stranger who had denied having seen him at all.

Jaden pulled out of the room, his heart beating furiously, as he walked as calmly as he could back to Jesse and Herbert.

He could hardly smuggle Syrus right past them, and he wanted to tell Jesse about this 'discovery' before he acted. After all, his rash actions had gotten him and his friends into trouble one too many times, and he was finally learning from his mistakes.

He would tell Jesse about this, but then he would get Syrus out of there.

Because what was Syrus doing in this place, with a stranger who had been so kind and yet had lied to them?

Hazeru - Syrus has been found? Is this a good or a bad discovery...

Hera - Please R&R


	7. Chapter 6  Revelations

Hazeru - Finally! I found a fully functional computer - mine is broken right now - so I am using it to update this story, which it long overdue for a new chapter.

Hera - Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Chapter 6

Revelations

To this day, a certain dinosaur loving duellist cannot recall a time in his life when he was so physically uncomfortable and mentally exhausted as he was when he hauled his muddy, soaking body off the forest floor to look around at a grassy clearing, illuminated slightly by the moonlight despite the heavy rainfall. Hasselberry brushed pine needles off his clothes, getting his hands further covered in mud, as he scanned the area for signs of friends or bears; he found the area deserted of anything but plants, water and mud.

Letting out a yell of complete frustration and fury felt good, he had to admit, but it didn't make him feel _better_. He was still miserable and lost and alone and uncomfortable and any other number of definitions that meant 'unhappy'.

The clearing's grassy surface was relatively unmarred, leading him to realise that, at some point during his trek across the forest floor, he had unknowingly lost the bear's tracks. Even the tracks that he wasn't sure belonged to the bear were gone now, meaning that he had lost Chazz Princeton one hundred per cent. He was well and truly lost and so tired that even the wet grass was looking like it might make a pleasant makeshift bed; he was so used to the water pouring down on him from the skies above that he was fairly sure he'd never notice it once he lay down.

Was this what being in the actual army was like? Was this was nature fanatics did for fun? He was fairly sure that duelling was the far more sensible option; it was – or at least it was supposed to be – a game played with the duellists dry and warm and hopefully having fun.

Hasselberry was not a quitter, let it be known; he allowed himself to sit down on a nearby lump of wood – no doubt left behind from a fallen tree from long ago – but not to properly close his eyes or fully relax. It was indeed a breather, not the end to a highly unpleasant journey.

And perhaps it was fate – not destiny, he loathed that very word! – smiling on him for the first time that evening that he had decided to sit there for a few moments, because it was from his position, hunched over tiredly on that dirty log, that he heard a shout.

/

"No."

An inquisitive look. A growl.

"Forget it, fuzzball."

Another growl, louder this time; angrier.

"I said no!"

The argument had been going on for the past several minutes, with Momma Bear edging ever closer to her captive human, who was by now pressed up against the wall of the cave, purposefully nudging the dead hare away with his foot. The bear batted the dead animal towards him once again, growling at her disobedient 'cub'; in the eyes of the wild animal, he was refusing perfectly acceptable food and that was not on.

For Chazz, it was not so simple – he had been adopted by a bear, dragged through the mud and was being held captive by a ferocious animal who was trying to feed him a newly killed animal. Fear overruled any other emotion within him save for anger and disgust.

"Look, bear, that thing's not getting any closer to The Chazz, so why don't you go crawl into a river and fish me out a nice lobster!?" he snarled at the bear.

Momma Bear just growled at him again, this time leaning down to pierce her teeth through the hare's shoulder and pick it up – depositing it directly onto her twitching cub's lab, ignoring his shriek of horror and staring at him meaningfully. Chazz did not do as she wanted – fall upon the meat and devour it gratefully – but instead he picked it up and, at inhuman speed, hurled it past her and out the entrance of the cave, where it was followed by one of the larger bears.

As a final act of defiance, he folded his arms and stared pointedly at the bear.

She growled at him, baring her teeth menacingly, but by now Chazz was aware that he was not here to be food and was bold enough to just yell back wordlessly at her. He was so wrapped up in trying to escape that his mind didn't even register just how loudly he had shouted.

Loud enough to be heard by someone sitting in a nearby grassy clearing…

/

"Find the bathroom okay, lad?"

The brunette nodded once in response.

Jaden glared at the old man with such obvious distaste that Jesse frowned at him, irritated that Jaden would show such disrespect to the man who had shown them such kindness. He was blissfully unaware of what Jaden had discovered while he'd been supposedly going to the bathroom.

Herbert – all the time wearing a kindly smile – ushered them gently out the door, bid them goodnight and good luck with finding the campsite, and closed the door behind him. Jesse turned to leave but Jaden did not move, staring intently at the closed door with a horrified expression. Jesse moved to place a hand on his friend's arm, confusion evident in his eyes.

"Come on, Jay, we should head back to camp."

"No. Jess, Syrus is in there!"

"Huh?"

"I went into one of the bedrooms after I went to the bathroom" he explained, hurriedly continuing once he saw Jesse's look of displeasure at the idea of him snooping around in someone else's home, "Sy's asleep in there."

"You seeing things, Jaden? He said he hadn't even seen Sy, now you're telling me he's asleep in there?"

"I'm serious!" Jaden insisted, his tone so rigid that his friend couldn't help but believe him; he had never heard the carefree brunette sound so desperately urgent. "I didn't want to make a scene before I'd told you but we've gotta get back in there and get Syrus out!"

Jesse nodded in agreement – well, if their friend was in there he could potentially be in danger, so of course there was no other option – but he looked uncharacteristically nervous.

"How are we gonna do it?" he whispered.

"I say we just bust down the door and take him down!" Jaden grinned, finding a sense of excitement despite the situation – largely due to the adrenaline rush that one experiences when facing what they know to be a dangerous or unfamiliar situation. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Jaden held up three fingers and slowly folded them into a fist, at which point he and Jesse opened the door uninvited – forcefully, yes, but hardly enough to have it fly off the hinges as they had imagined it would – and barged into the house.

There was a clattering sound from another room and Herbert stumbled out to see what the all the commotion was about, dressed in the same sweater but now wearing red checked pyjama bottoms.

"Lads! What on earth are you doing, barging on into someone's house! Haven't you got enough brain cells in them heads of yours to knock?" he cried indignantly. "I ought to call the police!"

"Give it up, old man; we know you've got our pal in here!" Jaden yelled. "Let him go!"

"What?!" Herbert exclaimed. "There ain't nobody in here except me."

"Oh yeah? Then who's in the bedroom?" the brunette boy persisted, feeling his friend's solid presence by his side. "Cause I've seen him, and he looks a heck of a lot like my buddy Syrus!"

There were several spluttered explanations – none of them coherent enough for the two teens to understand even if they had been properly listening – but eventually Herbert just folded his arms.

"And what're you doing looking around an old man's house? What would your mama think if she knew you were snooping around like a common thief, lad?"

By this point, Jaden had had just about enough; in a sudden burst of anger, he shoved past the old man and led the way to the bedroom in which he had discovered the sleeping body of his friend, opening the door to reveal the same friend still huddled under the blankets.

He glared at Herbert, Jesse doing the same as soon as he was over his initial shock and relief that they had found Syrus.

Herbert could say nothing; he simply hung his head.

* * *

><p>Hazeru - What's going on? Is this as bad as it seems? Worse?<p>

Hera - Find out next chapter. Please R&R.


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